Garden

The Landscapes Of Canada Gardens are on an exterior portion of the Canadian Museum of Nature, and I photograph it each season. And with finishing off my December tour of the Museum yesterday, it was appropriate to add this winter post for the place today as a coda to the series. Early this month I came here one afternoon. The Gardens are at the west end of the property, and include plants, grasses, shrubs, and other vegetation from four distinct ecosystems in the country. The first is the Mammoth Steppe, which features plants that have survived into the current day and were around in the age of the mammoths. A family of three mammoths are on the path with the plants buried beneath the snow at the moment. Note the dogs walking their human in the background.

 

This view from the sidewalk has some grasses of the Arctic Tundra sticking up through the snow. The sculpture of an iceberg occupies the path beyond it.

The path leads straight through the sculpture. This was conceived by the late Canadian inventor, pilot, and artist Bill Lishman, who's best known to the world at large for developing ultralight aircraft and leading geese and other birds in migrations.

Signage along the path details things about each ecosystem, such as this one about the tundra. Smaller signage identifies various plant species individually.

This view from the path looks towards the Museum. Prairie Grassland, the next ecosystem, lies beneath the snow, but come spring the long grasses and flowers start growing fast.

The last of the ecosystems is Boreal Forest. While most of the shrubs are under the snow, the trees are not. Among the other organisms here are lichens, occupying the trunk of a dead tree that actually predates the Gardens.

The tree I mentioned above can be seen in this shot, its trunk remaining upright at left, while the other trees are waiting on the spring to wake them up out of winter slumber.

One last shot of the Museum, taken from the sidewalk as I departed.